Tatsuki's academy days
by Shinjiteru2010
Summary: Rukia explains everything to Tatsuki about what's going on and she gets sent to the soul reaper academy. I do not own any of this! ShuuheixTatsuki
1. Chapter 1

She had had enough. She had always protected him through their childhood and even through their teenage years, still why? Why was he lying to her all the time? He had disappeared after their encounter in the hallway where she through her heart at him, admitting that she'd seen him in his soul reaper uniform with his Zanpakuto. She would figure it out…she knew what she had to do. That shop where she saw Ichigo disappear into a hole cut out of the sky, she would go there. _What was that place again?….oh…..Urahara's shop! I'll go there!_ She had made up her mind. It was set. After school, she would head over to the shop. _I will find him._

She ran down the streets faster than she usually did. Getting to the shop was her top priority. Her legs carried her down the familiar streets, they were the same she always walked, yet she had never noticed the shop there before. Reaching the door, she went to knock but almost fell inside when the door opened.

"Whoa!" she yelled as she was caught by someone with red hair and really weird tattoos.

"Hey, who are you?" He asked with an attitude that belonged only to Renji.

"Who am I? Who are you?" She looked over his outfit and then grabbed his shuuhakusho. "You! You're one of them! Where is Ichigo?" She yelled, shaking him.

"Whoa! How do you know Ichigo and why do you think I would know where he is?"

"Don't play stupid with me! You're one of those things that fights those monsters aren't you?" She clenched her teeth. She had to get to him, no matter what, she had to help Ichigo… Renji looked at her surprised, he was genuinely confused. How could she know anything about that? Could she be…another one like Orihime?

"I would appreciate it if you would leave our comrades alone," Yoruichi said in her cat form.

"A cat?" Tatsuki looked at her. "You talk?"

"There's no time for that now. Release Renji and follow me." She padded off into the back room of the shop. "Urahara, we have a guest."

"Ah yes, welcome!~ I've been expecting you, miss Arisawa." He said with his fan in front of his face. "Sit, sit, would you like some tea?" He motioned for her to sit.

"I want to know where Ichigo and Orihime are." She stood and clenched her fists.

"This is something best left to them, you understand?" Urahara said.

"No! I want your help! I want to help them! I've seen the things he fights…I've seen him in that black kimono…What's going on? Why am I the only one who can see these things? I want to know now!"

"Very well, then, Tatsuki," Rukia said from behind her. "We'll tell you."

"Rukia?" Tatsuki turned around to see Rukia standing there.

"Urahara-san, it's only fair." Rukia said. "She can see, sense, and possibly even fight these things, too. It's not fair to leave her confused like this." Rukia sat down. "Tatsuki, sit down," she listened and sat in front of her. "Understand, Tatsuki, once you learn this there is no going back to being an ordinary teenager."

"I understand! Now tell me!"

Rukia's eyes widened very slightly when she felt the spiritual pressure coming off of Tatsuki. That was about her spiritual pressure when she entered the academy.

"Tatsuki, in this world, there are things called wholes and hollows. Wholes are the good spirits that are sent to the soul society to live out their afterlife. If for some reason a soul becomes attached to a place and refuses to leave, they become hollows." She held up her sketchbook and used the same illustration she showed Ichigo.

"Um, I have a question. Why do your drawings suck?"

Rukia's eyebrow twitched. "Ignoring that…" she went on to tell how Ichigo became a soul reaper and saved her from being executed, including how Orihime, Uryu, and Sado got their abilities. Tatsuki sat and listened to it, confused but understanding everything that she had to do. She had to find out what her ability was and help them fight.

"Okay, I get it. I'll train and help you fight."

"No, you won't." Urahara said. "She didn't tell you this so that you could get stupid and try to fight. It's true that your spiritual pressure is amazing but you know nothing of how to fight or even what your ability is. You will stay out of this battle."

"Urahara," Rukia interrupted. "Isn't this what got Orihime kidnapped in the first place? I have a plan. Tatsuki has amazing spiritual pressure. It's the amount I had when I entered soul reaper academy. We'll send her there. They can train her like she was from the Rukongai. I will see to it that the students in her classes don't find out she's a human. It will be like she had already died. She can get trained there and she can join us when she's ready."

"I don't know about that, Rukia," Yoruichi said, "Don't you think it will be weird if she doesn't even know anything about Rukongai?" Rukia smirked.

"Not if I call in a favor from Byakuya Onii-sama. He can adopt her just like he adopted me. It will only be temporary, of course. But I think it could work. Tatsuki, would you have an alibi for the time you're away? Remember, it could be a while."

"I live alone. I can do it. Who is this…uh…Byakuya?"

"Never call him that!" Yoruchi yelled. "You may get in trouble for using such common terms for him. You shall call him Captain Kuchiki. Except to the students. Then you will call him 'Byakuya Onii-sama,' got it?"

"Y…yes…"

"That is, providing he agrees to it." Urahara chimed in.

"I will contact him right away," Rukia said. "After all, we'll need all the help we can get in the upcoming battle. And Tatsuki," Tatsuki looked at her, "Be careful and realize that neither one of them may come back." She looked her in the eyes. "You need to be ready for that."

"No! I won't be! I will get there and help them before that happens!"

Rukia smiled. She would be okay. She had the same will as Ichigo's.

"That's what I wanted to hear."


	2. New friend

She didn't have much preparing to do physically, after all, she couldn't take anything to the soul society that would reveal her as a human. Rukia had explained that the captains and lieutenants would know who she was and where she came from, but no one else would. She also said it was a good thing that Tatsuki couldn't control her spiritual pressure yet because that would make her look more like a soul reaper in training. She wore the soul reaper student uniform that Rukia had handed her as they waited for Byakuya. This was a whole new world she was going into, she knew that, and she knew that she would have to overcome all of the differences between the two.

The two were sitting on the floor when the senkaimon opened. Tatsuki bowed with her head to the floor, just as Rukia had taught her to do with this particular captain. Her eyes closed tight, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Sit up, girl," Byakuya said, sitting in front of her and looking over her, seeing what he was really going to be adopting.

"S-sir…I mean…I mean Kuchiki-taicho.." She stammered nervously.

"Be calm, girl," Byakuya said. "I have already decided to adopt you so you need not worry about my approval. But know this. You must also bring respect to the Kuchiki name, just as Rukia had to. From this moment forward, you are no longer an Arisawa, you are a Kuchiki. Take pride in the name, young one."

"Hai!" She said, regaining her confidence.

"Now, Kuchiki Tatsuki, we will be on our way."

"Byakuya Onii-sama," Rukia said, "Thank you very much."

"Rukia," he said, "I am doing what is best for soul society," he put a hand on his adopted sister's head. "Besides, I owe you a lot." He stood, motioning for Tatsuki to stand with him. And with that, he opened the senkaimon again and they stepped through, disappearing into the other dimension.

She walked down the streets with her new guardian, the one she would call "Byakuya Onii-sama." Everything was so different, they were advanced in technology but never once did she see a cell phone, a computer, or anything that she was used to as a human when someone referred to technology. Then, someone caught her eye. He was walking on the other side of the road. His face had three scars on the right anda 69 tattooed on the left. He was so…cute. She stopped to stare until Byakuya's voice got through to her.

"Pay attention, girl!"

"H-Hai! Sorry!" She ran to catch up with him as Shuuhei looked behind him to see the girl who had just been staring at him. There was something different about her, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Still, he would probably never see her again since she was only going to be in the academy and he would be deployed to fight the arrancar more than likely. He continued on his way, after all, he had a new paper he had to get printed before tomorrow.

Tatsuki followed, once again in step with him until they reached the Division 6 barracks. The building was huge! It took hours for the tour, led by so many different members of the servants of the Kuchiki house.

"Kuchiki-sama," a girl bowed in front of her, holding out a kimono made of fine silk. It was beautiful with embroidered flowers. "Please, wear this until you start in the academy tomorrow."

Tatsuki looked at her weird, she wasn't used to seeing people bow to her. Oddly, the girl reminded her of Orihime. Maybe it was the orange hair, or her shy personality. She couldn't place her finger on it, but either way it strengthened her resolve to get her best friend back.

"Thank you," she said, gently taking the kimono. It was weird, she thought that she would be automatically enrolled in the academy, but it turns out she had to wait until the paperwork went through, which one of the other servants explained usually took a full day.

"Miss…" the servant started like she didn't know what to say.

"Yes? What is it?" Tatsuki said turning back to her.

"I…I know…I'm supposed to…serve you tonight…but my brother just…died and…he was all my family left…and…"

"What's your name?" The girl looked up as she wiped her eyes.

"My…name is Kagamine…"

"I see…" she embraced the little servant girl. Those eyes, she just couldn't resist them, they were so much like Orihime's when _her_ brother died. "Don't worry about serving me tonight, Kagamine. If you need anything, feel free to come to my room. Say, why don't you come spend some time with me right now?" The little girl looked up at her shocked. She was a servant girl, it was untraditional for her to even be speaking with a higher rank than herself. She wept as she fell into Tatsuki's arms.

"Brother!" she cried and cried until finally her cries turned to choking sobs and Tatsuki could carry her to her room. There, she laid her down on the bed and sat beside her. She knew she had to act like a noble, but she didn't have the heart to turn the girl away.

"Are you okay, Kagamine?" Tatsuki asked, touching her head.

"Y-yes…" She curled into Tatsuki's hand. "Thank you, Kuchiki-sama."

Tatsuki smiled. The girl would be okay, she knew it. She would take care of her while she was there and attending the academy and then she would leave to fight the arrancars and get Orihime back. Kagamine would get stronger, just as Orihime had.

"Well then, why don't you stay here in my room with me tonight and tomorrow you can go back to your room?"

"N…No. I couldn't do that! I would be scolded for being in your room and not cleaning or tending to you." She looked at Tatsuki and Tatsuki only winked.

"Then how about this. I tell them that I needed someone with me until I could adjust to being in a noble house and that you were here to help me? You can still do all the cleaning if you'd like, but you could be with me."

"Why are you doing this for me? I'm only a servant girl," Kagamine asked.

"I'm doing it because you remind me of my best friend. Someone I need to get stronger so I can protect her. A long time ago, she lost her big brother, too, and I was there for her as she lost her whole family, and now I'll be here with you."

"Thank you!" Tears started running out of her eyes again as she laid with Tatsuki and cried more. Everything reminded Tatsuki so much of Orihime that she even allowed a few tears to escape from her eyes and down her cheeks. They laid, the girl sobbing and Tatsuki comforting her.

Morning came, and with the rising sun, the girl rose and began cleaning the room that Tatsuki thought had already looked pretty clean. _I guess nobility here like things spotless._ She watched the little girl scurry around the room, dusting and laying down rugs. She was a hyperactive little girl, you would never know that her brother had just died…

"Miss Kuchiki," Kagamine said, "it's about time that you get over to the academy.

"Hai. I know." She slipped on her student uniform and walked out of the huge barracks. She walked down the road, trying to remember where she was supposed to go when she accidentally bumped into _him. _The one she saw the day before, the one with the scars and tattoos. She looked up at him from the ground as he extended a hand to help her.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry," Shuuhei said. "Let me help you." She took his hand and looked at him, unable to say anything. "Um…what is your name?"

"Uh…" she stared at him. "I…my…my name is Kuchiki Tatsuki…"

"Kuchiki? Oh! You must be that new girl that Kuchiki-taicho adopted. What's the problem?" He said looking into her eyes. She finally regained her composure and mentally scolded herself for making a first impression of an idiot.

"Oh, I'm trying to find the academy. All of these streets look exactly the same and I'm sort of lost."

"I'd say you are! That's on the other side of the seiretei. Would you like me to take you there?"

"Oh, I wouldn't want to be a bother. You must be busy…" she noted the lieutenant's badge that was tied around his left arm.

"Not at all. I'm going there anyway." He led her through the streets. She wandered how many times she would have to walk through the streets to start learning them. Or would he be there every day to escort her? _Hm….no! _She couldn't think of that now. She had more important things than a silly crush on a lieutenant. She mentally scolded herself again. "What is it? Cat got your tongue?" He laughed a little. "Come on, you can talk to me. I'm not a stuck up lieutenant."

"Hai!" She said a little nervously. "I'm just wandering…if I'll be able to find my way tomorrow when you're not here to guide me."

"Don't worry about that. I pass the Kuchiki's residence everyday around this time on my way to the academy. I could just stop and pick you up around this time if you'd like."

"Eh? Really? You would do that?"

"I don't see why not? I can't leave a pretty girl like you out wandering around on the streets. No telling what the Division 11 thugs would do to you."

"T-Thank you," she blushed a little.

"Well, here we are." He stopped walking and she bumped into his back. He laughed again. "You like to bump into me?"

"S…sorry! I wasn't expecting to stop so suddenly and…" _what am I doing? I'm acting like a complete idiot. Idiot, IDIOT!_

"It's fine. Just go through these double doors and go down your hall to the right. You'll be meeting in the assembly room. It's hard to miss. Good luck, Kuchiki."

"Hai! Thank you!" She ran inside and away from the person who made her feel like a total idiot. She followed his directions and soon she was surrounded by other people wearing the same uniform. To her relief, they all looked as confused as she did. She stood by herself for a while until a captain stepped onto the stage.

"Good morning," when he spoke, everyone silenced themselves. "You will soon be placed into classes, but first, we will have Hisagi Shuuhei read us the latest news, as is custom. You will learn his face and come to him if you have any issues here in this academy."

Tatsuki's eyes opened wide as she saw him walk on stage. It was him again. He was here. He would be here all day. With her. She could talk to him if she needed anything. _Yes! This is perfect…now I'm not alone in this weird place…_ She listened as he read the news, much of it just normal stuff. Until he said "…the Kuchiki family has adopted a new sister into their family. The lovely Kuchiki Tatsuki, who I personally met this morning. She is a charming young lady and I expect you all to treat her with respect, not just as an elder, but because she's new just like you."

His words hit her hard. He was calling her charming, he was sticking up for her. He was…_protecting _her in the academy, making sure she wouldn't be made fun of. She couldn't believe it. She stood there frozen until the news was completely read. She didn't even see him get off of the stage and didn't notice it until he was standing behind her.

"Hello again!" He smiled at her. "I am to take you to the advanced class." He led her out of the room with everyone's eyes on her.

"Why did you do that?" She asked when she walked out of the room with him.

"You remind me of someone…that's all. I'll look out for you, miss Kuchiki." He led her down the hallways until they reached another room. "Here we are. Actually, I lied. I'm not taking you to the advanced class. The truth is that I received orders from the head captain to personally train you because you don't have time to be in the regular classes. He said you'll be joining us in the fight against that traitor Aizen."

"That's right," she said. "I have someone I need to protect…"

"I see." He turned and walked into the room. "First of all, I'll go over the basics of everything. Ready?"

"Hai."

"Then let's begin."


	3. Chapter 3

Class was amazing. Hisagi…he was so smart. He seemed to know everything. Not something you would get from his rough exterior. She listened to everything he said and took notes. He explained that even though they need to hurry, these were special circumstances and she wouldn't be able to learn the kido for a couple days. That meant that she needed to work harder on controlling her spirit energy before she could do anything.

"In order to help you quicker, I'll be coming to the Division 6 barracks in the evenings to help you. They have the perfect training grounds there that we can use."

"Okay." Tatsuki smiled. She really, genuinely enjoyed her time with him, even under the circumstances.

"Then class is dismissed, Miss Kuchiki." She stood up and turned to walk out the door when he stopped her.

"Where do you think you're going? You don't know your way back, do you?"

"Honestly? No…I don't even know my way out of this _building._"

"Then you'd better wait for me. I'll only be a few moments to report to the captain."

"Okay. I'll wait here." She watched him walk out of the room and then sighed as she fell to the floor. This feeling…_I think…I love him…_ She waited for about ten minutes when she heard his soft footsteps sounding in the hallway before he stopped and opened the door.

"Ready, princess?" He asked.

"Princess?" She looked at him confused.

"Of course, you are the princess of Rukongai now that you're with the nobles," he winked at her. "Remember that."

"Hai. Of course." She smiled as he led her outside and down the corridors of the huge building.

"Tonight I have some work to do, you know, reporting with the newspaper and everything but tomorrow-"

"You work for a newspaper?"

"I run the newspaper now that my captain's gone. Would you like to see my studio."

"Would I? Of course!" She smiled excitedly. "That would be awesome!"

"I didn't know you were so in to reporting, miss Kuchiki."

"Stop calling me that. My name is Tatsuki."

"Heh, of course, _Tatsuki_." He smirked. "So, Tatsuki. I don't know much about you, except that you're not really from Rukongai and that you want to help Orihime. Would you tell me more?"

"When we were younger…I helped Orihime and Ichigo a lot. Ichigo," she laughed a little, "he was always getting picked on for his hair so I would stand up for him and beat the crap out of kids who made fun of him. And Orihime…her whole family's dead…I was there the night her brother died. I guess you could say we've been like family since then. People stopped picking on her after I got involved. I take karate classes after school and I'm in the top 10 of my class…"

"You sound very interesting, Tatsuki. I can't wait to know more about you." He looked at her. "After this is all said and done…I think you should come back here…you could be a great addition…"

"You mean here in the soul society…as a real soul reaper?" She looked at him, trying to see through his hard exterior. Could he actually want her to be there with him?

"Of course. Your spiritual pressure is amazing, and you're skilled, I can tell that already. You'd probably be put in the 11th squad…."

"11th squad?" She looked at him quizzically.

"It's the best of the best fighters. Their captain is the only captain who doesn't have a release of his sword. He's also the only one who got to be a captain by killing the former captain."

"Killed a captain? But I thought you're all on the same side here."

"We are, for most of the time. But sometimes power drives people to do things, and that's all Captain Zaraki is about. You'll find that out if you ever have the misfortune of running into him alone."

"Right…" They finally made it outside and they were walking down the streets. They were walking differently than before, she could tell that much. They were going to his studio! She could have _more_ alone time with him.

About 10 minutes later, they arrived at the studio. He opened the door for her and let her go in front of him. She looked around at all of the workers and all of the clippings of articles. Laying open on the desk was a folder of pictures. They were of…some captain maybe? White hair and really short…

"Oh, that's Captain Hitsugaya of the 10th division. His lieutenant brought those in because she thought they were _good reporting_." He air quoted. "Sometimes I don't know what to do with her-"

"Hey!" Rangiku hit him on the back of the head. "That wasn't nice Hisagi…"

"I told you to call me Lieutenant Shuuhei." He crossed his arms. "Tatsuki, this is-"

"Tatsuki!" Rangiku yelled. "I heard you were going to be here!" She pulled her into a huge hug. "_Smothering….can't breathe…" _she said as well as she could.

"Matsumoto, get off of her!" Shuuhei pulled her away. "You're gonna smother someone one of these days…"

"Thank you." Tatsuki breathed. "Matsumoto…" she looked up at her. "You're here, too?"

"You know it," she winked. "You'll do fine, Tatsuki."

"Thank you, Matsumoto," she smiled. "I will rescue Orihime with the rest of you!"

"Now, now. Not so fast…that may take too long, Tatsuki," Rangiku said. "You may be able to help with the arrancars though."

"Not a chance! I'm going to get strong and I'm going to save her and Ichigo!" She yelled. "You'll see. I will!"


	4. Shuuhei's Confession

He had to admit, she was an amazing girl, human or not. She had incredible will power. He couldn't help but start to like her, but they were teacher and student. Plus, she was only there to learn how to fight. Then she would be gone and he would be back to his normal routines again. He kept thinking of her fighting against the arrancars. Being outnumbered and then being struck down and…_No! Stop it, Hisagi! _He mentally scolded himself. She was only his concern until she was taught. Then it wouldn't matter what happened to her. He sighed. Who was he fooling? He was starting to care about her. But that didn't matter. Their relationship was strictly student-teacher. No matter what would happen.

He let her look around his studio and he explained some of the things they did there. She really seemed genuinely interested. He sighed. How he wished they could actually have a chance together, but she probably didn't feel the same way. Either way, he knew that all he could do for now was teach her.

The walk back to the 6th division barracks was quiet, well, until they arrived at the barracks and he heard a little girl run out yelling Tatsuki's name.

"Kagamine!" Tatsuki said cheerfully. "I thought I told you to stay inside until I got home."

"But you _are _home." She said.

"Lieutenant Shuuhei, this is Kagamine. One of the servant girls of the Kuchiki family. I guess you could say I took care of her last night and now she loves me to pieces."

"L…Lieutenant?…" Kagamine said, jumping out of Tatsuki's arms to bow on the ground. He was used to them bowing, but not so used to anyone paying attention to them.

"Tatsuki," he said. "Kagamine is a servant. Why would you care about her?"

"Because. Kagamine just lost her brother and I didn't want her to be alone while she's mourning. Oh yeah, we're going to light some incense for him tonight. Would you like to come along?" She asked him. He was so confused…but intrigued by her interest in the little girl. He couldn't very well turn her down. After all, he did say he'd be with her in the evenings and there was nothing wrong with lighting some incense.

"Hm. Sure." He agreed. "We can skip tonight's training for the lighting of the incense, but be ready to work tomorrow."

"Hai!" She smiled. "Thank you, Lieutenant. This really means a lot."

"Kagamine," she jumped up when the Lieutenant said her name. "Get up."

"Hai…" she stood up and stood close to Tatsuki, holding the red hakama.

"Lieutenant," Tatsuki said. "Well…I was wandering…how…did you get those scars?"

"That's a story better saved for another time," he turned his back to her, not wanting her to see the hurt on his face.

"Is something wrong?" She put a hand on his shoulder.

"No. It's just a long story and I'd rather wait until a more private time to share it with you. That's all." He turned to look at her again, placing a hand on her face momentarily and then pulling it away. _Why would I do that?…_ "Sorry." He sighed again. Tatsuki looked at him confused for a moment. There was so much in this world that was the same and yet so much that was different. She felt feelings here that she never felt back home, and she knew that one of the causes was standing right in front of her. Shuuhei Hisagi, Lieutenant of the 13 Court Guard Squads, and the man that she knew was making her fall in love with him.

"Shuuhei…" she looked him in the eyes and without reason, without hesitation, he pulled her close and kissed her, surprising her and Kagamine, who was watching with wide eyes at Tatsuki's side. Tatsuki looked at him when he broke off the kiss. "Lieutenant, this isn't right…" She turned away and went to run when he grabbed her wrist gently, silently begging her to stay.

"I'm sorry…I know you're a human and you'll be going back to your world but…"

"You think that's what this is about? Shuuhei, look, you are the nicest guy I have ever met and I admit that I'm starting to love you, but I have so many things to concentrate on and I don't need this to get in my way. I'm sorry, but I can't have any distractions."

"What about Kagamine? Isn't she a distraction?" He made her turn to face him. "Stop making excuses and tell me the truth. Please." He looked at her pleadingly. She had said that she loved him so what was stopping them?

"Shuuhei please…" She didn't want to hurt him, she really didn't. So why couldn't she just tell him the real reason? The reason she couldn't love him, she shouldn't. "I do love you, Shuuhei…but there's something you need to know." She looked up at him, bracing to tell him the whole truth. "Can we go somewhere more private?" She looked down at Kagamine. "Go wait for me in my room." Kagamine bowed and ran off as Shuuhei led her down the streets until they got to his barracks.

"We can talk in here." He let her go in first and he followed right after. "Now, what is so secret?"

"I used to love someone before you."


	5. Tatsuki's Revelation

AN:Sorry to disappoint all of you who wanted it to be Ichigo. I had an idea and so I went with it. Besides, I'm not a big IchiTatsu fan. Sorry!

"What?" Shuuhei asked. "Who was it and what does he have to do with me?"

"It has everything to do with you. I caused him to die…" She clenched her fists.

"Tatsuki…"

"He died because he was trying to protect me…" she looked away. "See…I was falling for him…there was this secret side of him that just…intrigued me. He would leave at night and not come back until early morning or he would leave and stay gone for a full day. I didn't know where he was, but…I knew that it was nothing to worry about…at least from a girlfriend point of view. He wouldn't have ever cheated on me. There was no way he would. One night, I got curious and decided to follow him…big mistake…I saw this thing…it was huge, ugly, and demonic. I know now it was a hollow," she smirked humorlessly, "If I would have been smart, I would have let him handle it. Instead, I distracted him. The hollow attacked and I yelled out his name. I was so stupid. He turned to me, surprised that I had followed him, and the hollow…"

"Tatsuki…" He hugged her tightly.

"He looked just like you…" She rested her head on his chest. "You even act like him."

"I'm sorry. I wouldn't have asked if I had known."

"No. It's good to talk about it. I never even told Orihime about it… I guess I should have, but I didn't. That's another reason I'm fighting, and a reason I knew Ichigo was lying about where Orihime went…I knew…I just knew it…"

"I won't let anything happen to you, Tatsuki, I promise." He stroked her hair. "In fact, my story's not much different than yours. Would you like to hear my story?"

"Sure. I don't see the harm in that…"

"Okay. Well, these scars…they're from a hollow. Our school took a trip to the world of the living for a test with a dummy hollow." He smiled sadly. "We should have known better, should have known it would attract a real hollow. I was there with my fiancée. She looked just like you," he looked down at her, "Her and I tried to fight it off before it could make its first attack but…well…we weren't expecting such a strong hollow. We were both just one step from graduating. I tried to save her, but by the time I got there it was too late. I took some of the blow, which is where I got the scars, but she got the worst of it. She died there…while I escaped. She did say one thing to me…she had me promise I'd find her in her next life." He looked down at Tatsuki, letting her take the story in, and waiting for her reaction.

"Shuuhei," she pushed away from him softly. "You can't possibly think…There's no way…" She backed away a little more, now realizing why he seemed so familiar and warm but not wanting to admit it. She was her, no one else. She couldn't be that girl, and yet she was. And here she is, back in the academy again with her once-was fiancée. "Shuuhei…" her soul cried out to him, and yet her mind told her not to go, told her that it was in a former life, it didn't mean she had to love him now. And yet she did. She wanted to throw herself into his arms, something inside her was yelling for him. She held her head as she looked at him.

"Tatsuki, it's okay…" Shuuhei looked at her. "I understand…it was a past life, I know that. And I left you when you were dying. I'm sorry…."

"Don't apologize!" She yelled. "I just…this isn't right, this isn't how this was supposed to go!"

"So the truth comes out." A deep voice said as a black cat padded into the room. "Tatsuki, do you understand that there is no turning back, no matter what happened? You know that whether that was you or not, you will still need to face him every day. You need to accept it."

"I understand but…it couldn't have been me! I'm me…I take karate…and I just found out about this soul reaper stuff…" She stammered. "It just can't be me."

"It is you!" Yoruichi yelled. "Tatsuki, think about it! You've been feeling it since you first saw him, haven't you. Your soul _longs _for him. You know that you are Tsukiko. You know it deep down, you just don't want to admit it."

"Stop!" Tatsuki yelled and she ran out the door. Shuuhei got up and was almost out the door when Yoruichi stopped him.

"Let her go. Until she realizes that she was Tsukiko, you can't do anything. She needs to come to terms with the fact that she has had more than one life in more than one world, understand?"

"But I'm the one who caused this," he said sternly. "I need to make it right…"

"You can't do that until the Tsukiko in her makes her come back to you, got it? The whole reason we brought her here in the first place was to find you. Do you really think they would let a _human _in the academy? Moreover, do you think they would have her assigned to study under you _alone _when you're not even a _teacher?_ Lieutenant Hisagi, surely you must have picked up on it."

"I'm so stupid!" He clenched his fists as he sat down. "Why didn't I see it? I told Tsukiko I would find her…so why? Why am I so surprised that her new incarnation is here?"

Yoruichi looked at him as he trembled. She was right, Tatsuki was only allowed to enter the academy because she was once Tsukiko, a sixth year and Shuuhei's once-was fiancée. Sooner or later, both of them would have to accept that. Until then, she would be monitoring both of them, making sure they didn't do anything stupid or reckless. With a _meow, _she jumped off of the windowsill.

"Take care of yourself and Tsukiko, Shuuhei," she said sternly as she left the room.


	6. Chapter 6

It had been hours since Tatsuki sat in her room staring at the wall but not really seeing it. She couldn't get Shuuhei out of her head. Could she really be his dead fiancee? How could it be? Sure, she believed in reincarnation but she never thought anything like this.

i"It's him."/i A voice said inside of her. i"He's the one that I love. And now that you love."/i Tatsuki's eyes opened wide. That voice seemed familiar but somewhat distant. She put her head in her hands and ran her hands through her hair, resting her chin on her knees.

There was a knock at her door. "Go away, please!" she shouted but the door opened anyway. Standing outside wasn't a servant like she thought it was. She looked up to see a pair of worried eyes looking down at her. "Rukia..."

"Tatsuki, are you alright? You looked a bit upset when I saw you running through the halls. What happened?"

Her eyes drifted back to the wall again. "I'm just confused." Rukia sat down beside her and put a hand on her back.

"I know that things here are different. The technology, the places, the people..."

"It's not that!" Tatsuki said, looking over at Rukia, tears threatening at her eyes. "What am I supposed to do?"

"What are you talking about?" Rukia looked at her, worried again.

"Shu...I mean...Lieutenant Shuuhei...he's my fiancee."

"What?! What are you talking about? Are you sure you weren't dreaming or something." Rukia looked at her, confusion mixing with the worry.

"Not right now he's not. I mean in the past. I was this...Tsukiko girl. And I ran off on him when I found out and I don't even know if he's still in that room. I should talk to him but will he even come back to me tomorrow morning to take me to school when I left like that? How am I going to talk to him?"

"Whoa whoa, calm down Tatsuki. If you want, I can take you to talk to him."

"...Does he want to talk to me right now?" She stood up. "I want to see him..."

"Then I'll take you to his studio. He's probably there." Rukia stood up with her and gave her an "everything's going to be okay" smile. Tatsuki was surprised that Rukia was so understanding about this. Did people here meet dead people often...?

Rukia led her out of the squad 6 barracks and down the perplexing streets once again. The sky was getting dark as they walked and Tatsuki wondered how Rukia (or any of the other soul reapers) found their way through the city in the dark. Before she knew it, Rukia stopped at a door and pointed to it. "Go ahead." Tatsuki hesitated but then she knocked on the door gently at first but then she knocked harder. The door creaked open and she almost lost her balance when she saw him.

He was still wearing his uniform, but his shirt was off and his chest was bare and wet. It looked like he had been working out and the sweat was running down his chest. Then she remembered something...at least it seemed like a memory. In the vision she saw Shuuhei sitting by a beautiful pond. They were sitting on a picnic blanket and the wind was blowing softly, his shirt was off then too-

"Tatsuki!" Shuuhei's voice cut through the vision and she jumped. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Her face had turned as red as her uniform.

"Then...why are you here?" He tried to hide the surprise in his voice.

"I want to talk to you."

"I'll leave you two alone," Rukia said with a short bow and she left. Shuuhei let her inside and he sat down with his arms on his knees.

"So what can I do for you, Tatsuki?" He tried not to meet her gaze, fearing that if he looked in her eyes that he would do something that he would regret later.

"Don't act like you don't know...you seem like you don't care at all about what happened." Her words sliced into him like a steak knife into butter.

"Tatsuki...that's not true." He held his hand out for her and she took it and sat beside him.

"I don't know what to think, Shuuhei. Am I attracted to you because i I /i am or because i she /i was?"

"There will always be those feelings there but just because we loved each other in your past life doesn't affect us now." He looked at their hands that were still connected and then looked into her eyes. "You are just like her...you know?"

"I am?" She looked into his eyes.

"Yes. You act just like her, you look like her, you even sound like her. I'm glad you're here."

"Well I figured that I should come talk to you-"

"That's not what I mean. I mean that I'm glad you're here in the seireitei. This way...even if you choose...not to love me in this life," she could have sworn she heard the hint of a crack in his voice when he spoke, "I still vow to protect you. I will keep you safe, Tatsuki. This time, I won't break that promise."

She felt something rise inside of her and she wasn't sure why. Her feelings seemed like they were going to overflow and they did, tears falling down her cheeks silently. "Shuuhei...why am I crying?" She wiped her eyes and he gently put a hand on the side of her face. Instead of looking surprised like he had thought she would, she put a hand over his and looked into his eyes. The distance between them kept decreasing and decreasing until they could feel their breaths intertwining and then it happened. Their lips met and in that instant, both of them knew that whatever happened in the past didn't matter. Their future was together and they would never lose one another again.


End file.
